CLASSIC GOALS FROM A CLASSIC TEAMThe scoresheet read like a blast from the past as David Villa and Fernando Torres sent Spain on their way to a 3-0 victory over Australia in the sides' final World Cup Group B match, sadly a dead rubber. Villa, making his final appearance for Spain, scored with a brilliant backheel in the 36th minute and was visibly distressed when substituted in the second half. Strike partner Torres made his own mark after half time with a calm finish from Juan Mata's through ball, and Mata himself rounded things off when he converted a Cesc Fabregas cross. Australia showed their usual energy levels but rarely threatened; it was all about Spain, several of whose stars we may not see grace the international stage again. Their contribution to the world game has been colossal.

90'

FULL TIME AUSTRALIA 0 SPAIN 3An era-ending three whistle blasts sound out to call a close to Australia and Spain's disappointing World Cup campaigns. Spain have at least restored some pride with a comfortable 3-0 victory on the day.

90'

RAMOS OFF TARGETRamos takes the resulting free kick, bending his effort around the wall and narrowly off target.

90'

YELLOW CARDJedinak cynically sticks out a foot to trip Silva, earning himself a yellow card in the process.

90'

HEROIC BLOCKA classic Andres Iniesta dribble takes the Barca man infield towards goal, where he cuts it back for Mata. Matthew Spiranovic pops up at the very last moment to throw his body in the way and prevent what looked like a certain goal.

89'

SILVA EFFORTSilva comes close to getting his name on the scoresheet, seizing on a loose Australia clearance to thrash a half-volley millimetres wide of the right-hand post.

88'

YELLOW CARDSpiranovic is booked for tugging at the elusive David Silva's shirt.

87'

RAMOS STILL HAS ITTroisi very nearly gets the run across Sergio Ramos to meet Davidson's cross from the left, only for the stalwart defender to summon a burst of energy and make it before his opponent.

86'

TORRES DISHES OUT THE PAINMatthew Spiranovic comes off worse in an aerial clash with Torres and is forced to leave the pitch for treatment, but he gingerly limps back on, probably on realising that Australia have used all of their substitutions.

84'

SUBSTITUTIONXabi Alonso makes what he claims will be his last walk to the Spain bench, making way for David Silva.

82'

GOAL!!! SPAINCesc Fabregas spies JUAN MATA all on his own on the right-hand side of the penalty area, and clips a pass over to his fellow substitute, who beats Maty Ryan easily with a left-footed finish.

80'

ALBIOL SOLDIERS ONAn effective sliding tackle leaves its owner Raul Albiol wincing in pain, and for a moment it looks like the Napoli defender won't be able to continue, but a moment's reflection leaves him in the mood to run it off.

78'

REINA'S QUICK REACTIONSMark Bresciano swerves away from Xabi Alonso and plays a pass over Spain's high back line for Matthew Leckie, but Reina is alert to the danger and charges a long way off his line to boot the ball upfield.

76'

HEIGHT ISSUEFernando Torres makes it to the byline and dinks the ball up into the air towards Juan Mata. Unfortunately, the Manchester United man doesn't have anywhere near the required height to reach it ahead of the Australia centre backs.

72'

LONG-RANGERJames Troisi goes for a goal from a long way out, smashing in a swerving shot that Reina has to watch all the way over the top of his crossbar.

72'

SUBSTITUTIONThe experienced Mark Bresciano, another who could be making his last appearance today, is sent on for Bozanic.

69'

GOAL!!! SPAINSpain double their lead with a goal of stunning simplicity. As the defence stands off, Juan Mata slides a through ball behind Ryan McGowan for FERNANDO TORRES, who is calmness personified as he trots up to the goalkeeper and passes the ball into the back of the net.

68'

SUBSTITUTIONCazorla makes way for Cesc Fabregas, who supposedly had a training ground bust-up with Del Bosque last week. Whatever the truth, no grudge has been held between the two.

66'

EASY FOR REINAOliver Bozanic shows quick feet to skip away from two markers and feeds the ball out to Halloran on the right flank. The substitute attempts a low cross, but it's woefully weak and trickles straight through to Pepe Reina.

62'

YELLOW CARDRamos chops Ben Halloran down from behind in the midfield zone and consequently receives a yellow card.

61'

SUBSTITUTIONOar has picked up a knock and is forced to leave the action, clearing the way for James Troisi.

59'

TWO'S COMPANYKoke's weak headed clearance from a corner falls kindly for Matt McKay on the edge of the area. The midfielder swings at the ball and sends it high into the stands, but he wasn't helped by Mile Jedinak also going for the same chance.

56'

SUBSTITUTIONJuan Mata makes his first appearance at World Cup 2014 as David Villa makes his way slowly from the field at the conclusion of his 97th and final cap. He looks far from happy about it and has to be consoled on the bench as emotions come flooding to the fore.

52'

BALL CONTROLLERSThat didn't last long. Spain are back in control of the ball and they don't look eager to relinquish it anytime soon. Reports of tiki-taka's death may well have been premature.

49'

AUSTRALIA RESURGENTAustralia already look more threatening than they did before the break; on this occasion Tommy Oar beats Juanfran for pace on the left wing and swings in a decent cross, but Sergio Ramos gets his head to it before any of Oar's teammates.

46'

SECOND HALFThe teams are back out and the second half is underway. Ange Postcoglou has made a change at the break, bringing Ben Halloran on for Taggart.

45'

CLASSIC MAGIC FROM VIRTUOSO VILLADavid Villa's goal is all that separates the two sides as we enter the break at the Arena da Baixada. The veteran striker made his final appearance in a Spain shirt even more special with a brilliant 36th-minute backheel from Juanfran's low cross. He's a truly world class player who's given us years of entertainment and will be sorely missed on the international stage. Spain have controlled the game and went close earlier in the half when Villa played in Jordi Alba, the full back shooting straight at Maty Ryan from close range. Australia have run hard as usual, but without Tim Cahill they look like a blunt instrument. Let's see if they can change all that in the second half.

45'

HALF TIME AUSTRALIA 0 SPAIN 1It's half time here in Curitiba, where Spain are leading Australia by a goal to nil.

44'

SPACE FOR ALBACazorla plays a long pass into acres of space on the left flank, inviting Jordi Alba to charge forward. The Barcelona man duly obliges, but his looping cross can't evade Ryan.

41'

KOKE HAS A CRACKKoke glances up 30 yards from goal and decides to try his luck with a low, powerful effort that has Ryan diving full length to push it around the post.

39'

NO WAY FORWARDAustralia are enjoying a rare spell of possession, but they don't look capable of doing anything with it. Every time a forward pass is attempted a Spain player pops up to intercept.

36'

GOAL!!! SPAINDAVID VILLA, who has been the best player on the field so far, scores his 59th goal for Spain in his final international appearance. Andres Iniesta gets Juanfran in behind Jason Davidson with an excellent slide-rule pass, and the right back crosses low for Villa to beat Maty Ryan with an exquisite backheel.

34'

VILLA ON FORMThe impressive David Villa ties Jedinak in knots with a sequence of quickfire stepovers and plays a ball across goal in search of Torres, but the Chelsea man isn't quite on the same wavelength and the chance goes to waste.

29'

STILL RUNNINGThe Socceroos are struggling to relieve Spain of possession here, but at least they're still running hard after two tough games in the heat of Brazil.

26'

TORRES GETS SHIRTYTorres, who has been messing around with his shirt since the first whistle, leaves the pitch to change it for a fresh one. One can only imagine what kind of wardrobe malfunction was occurring there.

23'

STRAIGHT AT THE KEEPERFernando Torres' shot is charged down on the 18-yard line, the ball running to Villa, who quickly finds Jordi Alba in space to his left. The full back blasts a shot at goal from inside the area, but it's straight at Maty Ryan.

20'

WASTED OPPORTUNITYSpain get the chance to send a free kick into the box, and Andres Iniesta steps up to take the set-piece, but his cross fails to beat the first man.

17'

CAZORLA BLOCKED OFFVilla twists and turns on the edge of the box and slips a ball between defenders for Santi Cazorla. The Arsenal man turns on the spot and goes for goal, but he can't squeeze his shot beyond a wall of markers.

14'

PLACES UP FOR GRABSAs you might expect, this isn't the fastest-paced game in World Cup history. Some of these Spain players could do with showing a bit more urgency; after this tournament they may well have a much better chance of cementing a first-team place.

10'

AUDACIOUS PASSMile Jedinak tries to find Mathew Leckie with a searching 50-yard pass out to the right flank. It's certainly ambitious, but it's also overhit and runs harmlessly out for a goal kick.

7'

VILLA INCENSEDDavid Villa is visibly unhappy about a sturdy challenge made by Alex Wilkinson, but the defender receives no punishment. A card would have been harsh, as it appeared that Wilkinson slipped as he approached the veteran forward.

4'

SOCCEROOS BOUNCINGAdam Taggart hares after a ball into the Spain penalty area as Australia burst out of the blocks, but it's slightly too far in front of the forward, who can only toe-end the pass out for a goal kick.

1'

KICK OFFReferee Nawaf Shukralla of Bahrain blows the whistle to get us underway here in Curitiba. The atmosphere inside the stadium is restrained but, brilliantly, still a happy one.

0'

SPAIN LINE-UP ANNOUNCEDIt's changes across the board for humbled Spain; Pepe Reina replaces Iker Casillas in goal, with Raul Albiol and Juanfran stepping in for Javi Martinez and Cesar Azpilicueta in defence. Xabi Alonso, making his final international appearance, is joined in midfield by Koke and Santi Cazorla, and Vicente del Bosque has plumped for a classic front two comprised of David Villa and Fernando Torres.

SPAIN V AUSTRALIAIt's that unfortunate time again when the football world is treated to the delights of the World Cup dead rubber. At least the combination we find ourselves left with today is one that nobody would have predicted; modest Australia may have been one of the favourites to progress no further than the group stage, but the same can certainly not be said of world champions Spain. Vicente de Bosque's side have the same number of points as today's opponents, that is to say zero, and it really does feel like the end of an era. These men who have conquered the world don't owe anybody anything, but their pride alone will push them to go for victory today. Join me, Luke Ostler, at 5pm for all the action from Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, for all the Group B action.

0'

RUSH FOR THE EXITThis could be the last ever appearance in a Spain shirt for some of the game's most celebrated figures. Xabi Alonso has announced his intention to retire from international football following the World Cup, while midfield partner in crime and the fulcrum of Spain's decade of dominance, 34-year-old Xavi, looks at the end of his personal road. Even stalwart manager Vicente del Bosque has offered to step down, should the public demand it.

0'

ONE TO WATCHSpain are likely to give some new faces a go today as realisation dawns that the current generation has had its fill of success. There's plenty more waiting in the wings to take their place, though, not least Atletico Madrid's exciting attacking midfielder Koke. The 22-year-old has had a superb season, winning La Liga and being called up the World Cup squad, and he'll be brimming with confidence if called upon today.

0'

SPAIN TEAM NEWSSeveral squad players could start for Spain today, while David de Gea and Gerard Pique are struggling with injuries.

0'

AUSTRALIA TEAM NEWSTim Cahill is suspended after picking up a booking in each of his side's opening two matches, with Adam Taggart looking likely to step in.